LHC bars Pemra from taking ‘adverse action’ against anchorpersons until further orders by court – Pakistan

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday prevented the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) from taking any "adverse action" against the presenters who challenged a recent directive issued by the regulatory body, which prohibited television presenters from giving their " opinions "during talk shows, until further orders from the court.

Some 11 television presenters filed a petition against Pemra's notification in the higher court, saying that the directive violated article 19 of the Constitution, which grants all Pakistani citizens the right to freedom of expression.

The order was also in contradiction with article 9 of the Constitution, which dictates that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty except in accordance with the law, the presenters said. They urged the court to suspend Pemra's notification until the issuance of a final verdict in the case.

During today's hearing, Pemra's lawyer said the regulatory body has already issued a clarification on the matter.

He regretted that TV presenters "talked about the deal [while] discussing a case of subjury "and added that the LHC did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, since it can only be heard by the Islamabad High Court.

The superior court accepted the request for a hearing and ordered all respondents, including Pemra and the Ministry of Information, to submit written responses. The hearing was postponed indefinitely.

Pemra was criticized by the media and government officials for a notification issued on Sunday, which prohibited presenters from giving their "opinions" during the talk shows and limited their role as "moderator." The notification also attracted the anger of the IHC, which yesterday issued a contempt note to the president of the regulatory body for using the name of the court to issue strict guidelines to the media and presenters.

The notification issued by Pemra had ordered the presenters "not to appear as experts" in talk shows on their own or other channels and to ensure that the guests invited to the news programs are "selected with due care."

"Participants / guests should be selected with due care and have credibility as fair and impartial analysts with the knowledge / experience required on the subject. According to Pemra's code of conduct, the role of presenters is to moderate programs objectively , impartially and impartially differently, excluding themselves from their personal opinions, prejudices and judgments on any subject.Therefore, presenters who offer exclusive regular programs should not appear in talk shows, either their own or other channels, as experts in the matter ", reads in the notification.

The notification also referred to an order approved by the IHC on October 26, in the Shahbaz Sharif case against the state, and said the court had learned of several speculative television programs by which the presenters, in violation of the code of conduct, tried to defame the judiciary and its decision with bad intention.

"The court requested a report of Pemra's actions on such violations with a warning," the notification added.

Pemra also said that the IHC had also noticed that some presenters / journalists held speculative discussions on October 25 on some television channels and alleged an alleged agreement regarding the bond granted to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 26.

"It was believed that this was an attempt to tarnish the image and integrity of honorable higher courts and make their judgment controversial," he added.

After facing criticism, the regulatory body had defended the directive in a statement on Tuesday, which said the previous notification was misunderstood.

"No way [the notification] it was to restrict freedom of expression as projected by few, "the statement said and added that the notice agreed with Pemra's rules regarding the discussion of subjudicial matters.

"Pemra fully supports freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and has the role of regulating it within the limits of Pemra's laws and code of conduct."